Help End Child Slavery in Crisis Situations

For children in South Sudan, war and violence is a part of everyday life. With their schools frequently bombed or attacked, many are at risk of abduction or trafficking. Since the start of the conflict 18 months ago, 13,000 children have already been recruited as child soldiers.[1]

Children abducted or trafficked in conflict areas are violently forced into slavery, either as child soldiers fighting battles they aren’t old enough to understand, or as victims of sexual slavery and forced marriage. Yet for boys and girls in Yei Town there is a beacon of hope. On the site of a bombed primary school, the Kinji Primary School has opened and now provides education to 1,300 children.[2] In unstable environments like South Sudan, having a safe place to spend the day offers these children important protection from modern slavery.

Right now we have a unique opportunity to help more children living in dangerous areas access education and find the support they need. A Global Fund for Education in Emergencies has been set up to help provide education to children in emergency areas across the world, supporting children in the very worst situations.

We want World Leaders to publically commit to making donations to this fund, so that more schools like the Kinji Primary School can be built all around the world. With conflicts in many countries showing no signs of slowing, more must be done to protect children from slavery in emergency situations. Please help us draw attention to this issue by signing our petition. Reports indicate that there is heightened vulnerability of Kenyan children from foreigners including UK nationals. According to a report by End Child Prostitution in Kenya (ECPIK), more than 50,000 children are involved in Child Sex Tourism (CST).[4] CST is most rampant along the Kenyan Coast where a majority of the tourism activities take place.

Recently, cases have been documented whereby British nationals; some convicted sex offenders, have travelled to Kenya where they sexually abused children and avoided prosecution in both Kenya and the UK. Consequently, victims went unnoticed without the vital protection and support they needed. The case of Simon Harris, a British former teacher, is just one case reported out of thousands that go unnoticed.

Now is the time to take the next step to do our part and help stop the nightmare of sexual slavery for children in destinations around the world by calling on the UK and Kenyan governments to strengthen their commitment in the fight against transnational child abuse by implementing international obligations and setting up national and international law enforcement teams to protect children everywhere.

SOURCES

http://www.childrenofsouthsudan.info/unicef-put-child-rights-first-in-south-sudan/ 
http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/EducationSupplement/13.pdf
Dear Decision Maker, 

I call upon you to publicly commit to the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund for Education in Emergencies to protect children and get them back in school. Instability puts vulnerable children at risk of being recruited as child soldiers, forced into child marriage or sexual slavery, or being trafficked or abducted.

In honour of the most marginalized and vulnerable children in the world, we, the world's youth, teachers, parents and global citizens appeal to our governments to keep their promise, made at the United Nations in 2000, to ensure all out-of-school children gain their right to education before the end of 2015.

We are standing up to bring an end to the barriers preventing girls and boys from going to school, including forced work and early marriage, conflict and attacks on schools, exploitation and discrimination. All children deserve the opportunity to learn and achieve their potential.

[Your comments here]

We are #UpForSchool

Sincerely, 
[Your name]
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